Thursday, April 19, 2012

If you've spoken to me at all over the past few weeks, you will have realized that they have been a bit of a struggle for me. A lot has been happening, so many emotions, so much up in the air. Yesterday when I woke up, the thought came to mind that maybe some people think I'm a little crazy, one day smiling from ear to ear and the next plodding around like I just lost my best friend. The thought followed that it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks of me, followed by the thought that life is referred to as a "journey" for a reason. I had never really thought about that before, but it makes perfect sense.

Let me paint a picture for you. If life is a journey, not every day is going to be the same. Usually, a journey is planned out in advance, but on a true journey, very little actually turns out as planned. There may be days when you plan for sun, so you forget your umbrella and end up sopping wet in an unexpected downpour. There may be days when you plan for rain and end up trekking barefoot through an endless sea of green grass, the wind teasing your hair and the sun kissing your upturned face. There will be days when everything turns out exactly as you wish, when you will smile and laugh and go to bed completely content. There will be days when everything seems to go wrong, when you will be frustrated or angry and go to bed in tears. There will be days when you meet others on the same journey, and days when you feel completely alone. The beauty of a journey is that no matter what you encounter along the way, there is always something else up ahead. Maybe the something else won't always be wonderful, but maybe it will be. Not every day is going to be sunshine and happiness, but not every day will be gray and rainy either. That's the wonderfulness of it all. That's why we keep going, keep pressing on, knowing that even if today was terrible, the next might just be beautiful. So enjoy the journey, my friends. You never know what's just around the next bend.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I had yesterday off from work, so I told Josiah that we should take a small roadtrip. He had never been to Pops in Arcadia, and neither had our friend Jeff, so we decided we'd go on an adventure. It turned out that we didn't get to leave until mid-afternoon and we had a time limit, but it turned out to be such a great time! We chose to travel Route 66 on the way there, which is definitely the scenic route! It was fun just cruising to the tune of Angels and Airwaves, catching up and enjoying the greenness of spring outside the windows. We arrived at Pops in the early evening and had quite the time picking out pop to bring home! I'm not much of a pop drinker, but I'm pretty excited about the Agave Cola I found! I also bought a pink t-shirt - doesn't take much to make me happy :). As you can tell from the pictures below, that statement applies to all three of us!

It was really good to do something spontaneous and just relax for a whole day! I had been to Pops before, but it was fun experiencing it through the eyes of pop lovers who had never seen it! We ate a yummy dinner of hamburgers at the 50's-style counter, which was also a big deal!

The guys even fit in a bit of parkour...always a good time! It was so good to spend time together and just be silly and spontaneous! Funny how the simplest things in life bring the most joy.

Monday, April 9, 2012

The past few weeks have been full of adventures! The adventures began on March 27th, when I turned 23. I can't believe I'm so old! My birthday weekend included The Hunger Games with Josiah and friends from church, dinner with the family at Fuddrucker's, a viewing of The Muppets with my family and our friend Cody (we laughed the whole time!), and new Toms. I worked on my birthday, which was actually so fun! One of my coworkers baked me the most delicious chocolate cake ever, and I may or may not have had two rather large slices. That night, my mom made a yummy dinner, followed by sour cream raisin pie...yum!!! I felt blessed and very loved!

The day after my birthday, Mom and Nate and I headed up to Iowa/Minnesota. Nate had his check-up at Mayo Clinic, so we stayed a couple nights with family friends in Iowa and then went to visit family in northwest Iowa. I had never been to Rochester, Minnesota before, so I had so much fun exploring Mayo Clinic and the surrounding area. Nate and I had some fun with the Mayo Brothers, who hang out outside of the Mayo Building 365 days out of the year. I think they were glad for the company!

Between Nate's appointments Mom took us to Caribou Coffee, since we don't have one here and it is the best coffee ever! I stocked up on whole bean coffee and bought a new water cup, since Mom would have given me "a look" if I'd dared to invest in another coffee mug. We also visited Trader Joe's, which definitely gives Whole Foods a run for its money. We snuck in lunch at Culver's, a yummy burger place that hasn't yet made its way to Oklahoma. I am now addicted to fried cheese - it's probably a good thing that I would have to drive three hours to a Culver's! Nate got a good report from both of the doctors up there, for which we were so thankful! God is so good!

We spent a day and a half with my mom's parents in Sioux Center, hanging out in their retirement apartment. Grandpa insisted on taking a small drive to his father's farm, which was so fun! The picture at the top of this blog is from the farm. The buildings are run down, since the new owners don't live there, but it is still beautiful. I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures, since it really is part of my family's story.

This week, I worked three days and then slept a lot in preparation for my friend Sarah's bachelorette party. I made pink zebra cookies (an idea from Pinterest), which actually turned out really cute! I just made my mom's peanut butter cookie recipe, added neon pink food coloring (actually half a tube), rolled the individual cookies in pink sugar, and after baking immediately added a Hershey's hug to the center. I was so proud of myself! Almost all of them got eaten at the party, so they were good, too! I love it when Pinterest ideas work out!

We all had a fun time at the bachelorette party. So excited for beautiful Sarah's wedding this weekend! I will be traveling to Kansas on Friday for the lovely occasion, and I can't wait!

Wow, I sound so busy from all of this! There is more, but I think this is enough of a catch-up for now. I hope everyone had a lovely day of celebrating our Savior's resurrection yesterday! God continues to blow my mind on a daily basis! Have a lovely week!

About Me

My three greatest passions are God, people, and coffee. There are few things I enjoy more than sitting down for a cup of coffee with a friend. I invite you to join me as I share my heart with you, just as if we were drinking coffee together. Because, after all, it is never too late for coffee.